A weblog for professionals in electrical, electronic, mechanical and software engineering with content provided by the members of the Long Island Consultant's Network.

December 2013

December 29, 2013

While my wife was shopping for clothes at a nearby mall today, I wandered around, looking at other things. I came to this store that was selling smart phones, tablet computers, game consoles and stuff like that. There are several different such stores in this area. There are the Microsoft stores, the Apple stores and the Sony stores. I won't say which one I went into because that really doesn't matter.

I found what looked like a laptop PC placed on a table right by the entranceway. There was something up on the screen that had a lot of text in it which I decided that I would read. That effort came to one quick end, let me assure you.

This young guy, my guess about twenty, came over immediately as I paused at the table and said "Hello, sir. Can I help you?" to which I replied that I was just looking. "We have some wonderful things here...." was followed again by "Excuse me. I'm just looking." which was followed by "You might be interested...." which was followed by my walking out the door because this kid simply would NOT shut up!

I never did figure out what was supposed to make that PC an attractive buy.

The truth be told, I have an almost zero tolerance for salesmen. Various bad experiences with a schlock insurance salesman, with an overly pushy men's clothing salesman, with a couple of crooked car dealerships, with this salesman, with that one and so on have trained me over the course of a lifetime to utterly disdain those in the retail sales profession.'

In the case at hand, I wanted to be left alone to read whatever it was that someone had put together for a would be customer like me to see, but I could not do that because of this obnoxiously pushy young kid who was working in that store and who insisted on trying to grab my attention.

My wife finished her clothes shopping and then the two of us made a loop through the rest of the mall. As we came around to that store from which I'd walked out, I told her of what had happened and stepped toward that same PC, still on that same table.

Instantly, another young guy suddenly came at me even more quickly than the one before, saying "Hello, sir. Can I help you?".

December 22, 2013

The writer has prepared BLOGs about EV, Electric Only, and how they might fit into the mix of vehicles that can be sold to the public to provide advantage. The EV we are talking about is one like the Nissan LEAF-----It has not been selling up to expectations and the apparent reasons include, a) excessive battery cost, b) lack of fast recharge facilities although promised by the Federal Government, c) reluctance on the public’s part about getting trapped needing an emergency charge. The big draw for the EV is that it is less costly for fuel to the extent that it can achieve approximately 100 MPGe (Miles Per Gallon, equivalent).

Now Toyota has been selling its PRIUS very well in this market, in part because it can operate in PLUG-IN mode and deliver local driving on electric only, but when the charge is near depletion it simply starts using gasoline to continue on. The write has known people that drive their PRIUS about 15-20 miles daily and simply recharge the battery over night in the garage. When the daily drive exceeds the electric range they let the PRIUS start the ICE and they continue driving whatever the requirement for that day is.

BMW is testing the market with their new i3 vehicle and is putting a different spin on the EV. What they are doing is revisiting part of the technology the GM tried with the very first Volt. In this case they are assuagging the angst about running out of charge by providing a 2-cylinder ICE and calling it a range extender.

Now there is much more to the I3 than just the ICE. BMW is using new reinforced plastics materials that have the strength of steel but will save 1000+ pounds in curb weight. The EV, electric only range is nominally 100 miles; with the range extender ICE this is increased an additional 150-190 miles. Writer’s personal opinion is that combined range of 250 to 290 miles per day should be plenty. This car is NOT competing with the Family Car. BTW, BMW is experimenting with fast charging modules for owner garage installation.

Much of the newly engineered reinforced plastic fabrication is intended to find its way into all the other BMW products. They taut the technology as the “future wave” for auto fabrication and are licensing it actively to other car manufacturers. According to BMW they are trying to avoid the pitfalls other manufacturers have encountered in promoting the EV. They are promoting the i3 as having near sports car performance-----3.5 second to 30mph and 7.2 seconds to 60 mph. Not “barn burning” but quite respectable. The i3 is equipped with HVAC that is heat pump type and defeatable to reduce battery drain. Ostensibly for use in winter/desert areas, the car interior can be preheated/cooled while still connected to the garage charging system. All good stuff. Be very interesting to see how the market need responds to the new i3.

Claimed base price for the i3 is $42,275---not cheap, but not outrageous.

It turns out that the particles of goldenrod pollen are too heavy to be windborne. Goldenrod pollination is insect dependent, not wind dependent. Think of bumblebees, honeybees, wasps and butterflies. Because insect vectors are needed, goldenrod pollen cannot by itself reach a potential hay fever sufferer by being blown around.

It just so happens that ragweed comes into season at the same time that goldenrod does and ragweed pollen does get distributed by wind. Ragweed is what causes the infamous suffering, not goldenrod.

Goldenrod's high visibility (ragweed is so drab by comparison) and the common floral timing of goldenrod with hay fever symptoms led to a verdict of guilt by association.

Remembering Ray Heatherton the other day ( A Confession and A Puzzle ) also got me reminded of "The Magic Cottage" which was a children's television program that was broadcast by The Dumont Television Network on WABD, channel five, in New York City from 1949 to 1951. The star was Pat Meikle.

You might recall Don Hastings who, among the Magic Cottage cast members, was also The Video Ranger in the Captain Video television show. (A separate recollection, there.)

Pat Meikle would draw a set of cartoon characters on a large sheet of paper on her Magic Easel while telling stories about them. The characters she drew which I can still remember are these. (Please forgive my clumsy sketching.):

With the addition of a backwards baseball cap, Simon Squirrel would become Bucky Beaver while Mopey Mole always wore dark sunglasses because, as we know, moles can't see well in broad daylight.

Each week, there would be a guest who always entered and exited the cottage by coming through that easel. You would see a drawn likeness on the paper sheet which would transform to the living, breathing guest.

There would be conversations held with Mister Voice From Nowhere while Pat Meikle and her guest were seated on a sofa in a small, comfortable looking alcove.

Now and then, Pat Meikle would costume herself as Witch Hazel and deliver a monologue in a pretty good imitation of Margaret Hamilton's wicked witch in The Wizard of Oz.

December 07, 2013

There is a negotiation philosophy which espouses that "The negotiations aren't finished until the other guy is screwed." The problem with this philosophy is that it can't happen that way unless the other guy is stupid which is very unlikely to be the case. So-called "hard liners" often make this mistake about anyone who dares to disagree with their hard line thinking. Accusations fly of being "soft" on the other guy.

Who is the other guy? That answer can be very broad indeed. It once could have been Leonid Ilyich Brezhnev of the former Soviet Union or it could more recently have been Mahmoud Ahmadinejad of Iran. It might be that nasty next door neighbor of yours who's been doing something which you find objectionable. It could be that red/blue state politician you don't like. (Take your choice there.)

I'm sure that with a little imagination, you could come up with all sorts of examples, like maybe a recent client? Perhaps a was-gonna-be-a client?

Quite frankly, I would make a really lousy negotiator. If I think that someone is trying to take the "screwed" approach with me over this or that, my gut reaction is to just walk away and let whoever that may be go drain their bile into someone else's world. I have far better things to do with my time and my life (see below) than maintain a business/professional relationship with someone like that.